White Papers

A Snapshot of HealthStream’s Pilot of the New ED-CAHPS Survey

In early 2014, CMS concluded its field test of a new CAHPS survey—Emergency Room Patient Experiences with Care, commonly referred to as ED-CAHPS. This survey will eventually become another required CAHPS survey. CMS tested the survey among patients discharged from the emergency room and patients admitted to the hospital from the emergency room. While CMS has indicated that it plans to release the final surveys this summer, they have not indicated when they will release their plans for national implementation. However, based on the timelines for other CAHPS programs, HealthStream anticipates that this survey could become mandatory as early as 2015 or 2016.

To ensure our clients are at the forefront of the new ED-CAHPS survey, HealthStream conducted its own pilot this winter among 22 emergency departments across the country. The goal of conducting a pilot survey parallel to the CMS field test was to help prepare hospitals that want to adopt this survey before it becomes required. The results of the pilot have enabled HealthStream to provide benchmarks and begin developing best practices that support this new CAHPS survey.